Peters



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet '1.

P. HUGGINS.

MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF TUBES. No. 366,092. Patented July 5, 1887.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-1Sheet 2.

P. HUGGINS.

MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF-TUBES. N0. 366,O0 Z. Patented July 5, 1887.

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F. HUGGINS;

MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF TUBES No. 366,002. Patented July 5, 1887.

hhzessa v 7W7Wf077- N.- PETERS Pholo-Lifihographer, Washington, D, c.

U ED STATES PAENr tries,

MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF TUBES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 366,002, dated July 5, 1887. Application filed December 28, 1886. Serial No. 222,829. (No model.) Patented in Eng'and May 8, 1886, No. 6,262.

To all whom, it may concern:

. Be it known that I, FREDERICK HUGGINS, of the firm of \Villiam Huggins 8; Sons, of Birmingham, in the countyofWarwick, England, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, have invented new or Improved Machinery for the Manufacture of I ron and Steel Tubes, (for which I have obtained Letters Patent in Great Britain, No. 6,262, dated, May 8, 1886,) of which the following is a specification. I

My invention consists of machinery, constructed, essentially, as hereinafter described, for the manufacture of iron and steel tubes, whether welded or open or close jointed.

The essential parts of my new or improved machinery are two pairs of rolls and a die having a trumpet-shaped axial opening in it. The said pairs of rolls turn on horizontal shafts working in bearings on the frame of the machine. The rolls at the front of the machine that is, at that part of the machine at which the strip of iron or steel from which the tube is to be made entersare of a shape suited to bend the strip of iron or steel passed between them into a trough-shapethat is, semi-tubular, or nearly semi-tubularone of the said rolls having a groove semicircular in cross-section and the other having a projection or flange semicircular in cross-section, the said flange on one roll working in the'groove in the other. The second pair of rolls consists of two similar rolls-that is, rolls each of which has in it a groove semicircular in crosssection, the op posed grooves having the same radius as the finished tube. Between the first and second pairs of rolls the die having a trumpetshaped axial hole in it is situated, the said die being fixed close to but without touching the first pair of rolls. The wide end or mouth of the bell-shaped opening is turned toward the first pair of rolls. The rolls are geared together with ordinary gearing and are driven by steam or other power. The heated strip to be made into .a tube in passing through the first pair of rolls has a trough shape given to it, and in passing through the die the trough shaped strip is bent or bent and welded into atubular form and the surface of the tube improved and the tube drawn forward through the die by the action of the second pair of rolls.

I will now proceed to describe, with refer- 4 represents in longitudinal section, and Fig. i

5 in front elevation, the trumpet shaped die detached.

The same letters ofreference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the drawings.

a b are the front rolls, by which a trough or nearly semi tubular figure is given to the heated strip and the strip forced through the die to the back or finishing rolls. The said rolls ab are carried by the shafts a If. 0 (Z are the back or finishing rolls, by which the drawing or carrying forward of the tube through the trumpet-shaped die is assisted and the surface of the tube improved.

The front pair or troughing rolls, a 1), consist of a lower roll, I), having in it :a groove semicircular in cross section, and an upper roll, a, having a projection or flange semicircular in cross-section, as best seen in Fig. 2.

The back or finishing rolls, a d, are alike in construction, each roll having in it a groove semicircularin cross-section, as seen in Fig. 3. The two pairs of rolls a I) and c d are geared together and driven in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1 by the arrangement of gearing shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

e is a fixed shaft on which the driving-pulleyf rotates. Connected to and turning with the said pulley is a toothed wheel, which gears with the toothed wheels g on the shafts of the upper rolls, a c, of the two pairs of rolls, and the toothed wheels 9 9 also gear with other toothed wheels on the shafts of the lower rolls, 1) d, of the two pairs of rolls. distance of the upper rolls, a c, from thelower rolls, 1) d, is adjusted by the screws h h, acting upon the bearings of the rolls, the said screws being raised and lowered by means of the handle engaged in the heads of the screws. A handle (marked i) for the purpose described is represented engaged with the head of one of the adjusting-screws of the upper roll, a.

k is the trumpet-shaped die supported in the box or holder 7.", and situated between the The front and back pairs of rolls, a b and c d, the said box or holder being supported by the part Z, fixed to the standard of the machine. The wide end of the opening inthe trumpetshaped die k" is turned toward the front pair of rolls, a b. The trumpetshaped die is" is held in its place by the screw m, working in the screw-box m on the standard of the machine, the said screw at being raised'and lowered by turning the hand-wheel at its top. By raising the said screw m the die 70 may be removed and replaced by a fresh one, or one of adifferent kind, to suit the tubes being manufactured.

The action of the machinery is as follows: The machine is situated near the furnace in which the strips of iron or steel to be made into tubes are heated. The end of a heated strip (marked a in Fig. 1) is taken hold of by the workman by means of a pair of tongs and introduced between the first pair of rolls, a b. The strip a, seized by the rolls a b, passes rapidly between them and is bent into a semitubular form. Emergingfrom the first pair of rolls, a b, the troughlike strip (indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1) is forced by the rolls a I) through the trumpet-shaped axial opening of the die it", the axis of the said opening being in a line with theaxis of the eye of the rolls a b. The trough-shaped heated strip of iron or steel in passing through the die 75* is bent into a tubular form, and on leaving the said die passes between the second pair of rolls, 0 d, the eye of which is in the same line as'the axis of the trumpet-shaped opening in the die k and the eye of the first pair of rolls, a Z). By the action of the second pair of rolls the drawing of the tube through the die is completed and the surface of the tube is improved.

The finishedtube passing from the rolls 0 d is marked 1).

The heated strips of iron or steel may be made by the use of my machineryinto welded butt-jointed tubes or into unwelded tubes, commonly called open 'ointed tubes or closejointed tubes. W'hen buttjointed welded tubes are to be made, the edges of the strip are presented face to face and the width of the strip is such that when it passes through the die k the edges are pressed forcibly together and welded.

In making welded tubes the strips are raised to a welding heat and passed through the machine quickly. When unwelded tubes are to be made, the strips are heated only to bright redness and need not be passed so rapidly through the machine.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is In machinery for the manufacture of iron and steel tubes, whether welded or openor close jointed, the combination of the troughing and forcing front pair of rolls, a b, and the drawing-forward and surface-improving back pair of rolls, 0 (Z, with the die 7:? between the said pairs of rolls, the axis of the bell or trumpet shaped opening in the said die being in the same line as the eyes of the two pairs of rolls, for the purpose and substantially as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FREDERICK HUGGINS. [L.- s.]

Witnesses:

RICHARD SKERRETT, ARTHUR J. PowELL. 

